Into this Life Be Born
by lia-finn
Summary: Sometimes what we least expect turns out to be what we most prize. Some whumping. Fluff and angst. JohnElizabeth, BeckettCadman, RononTeyla.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Into This Life Be Born

Author: Lia

Classification: Romance, some angst

Rating: T

Pairings: John/Elizabeth, Carson/Laura, Ronon/Teyla

Spoilers: No

Summary: Sometimes what we least expect turns out to be what we most prize.

Disclaimers: Not mine. Stargate Atlantis and all its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author´s Note: First of all, big thanks to Pat for beta. She has been a great help with everything, even being a total Sheyla shipper herself (ick!). But, even this has been beta read, there could be mistakes as English is not my first language. Just ignore them.

Feedback is always much wanted and appreciated.

Hope you enjoy!

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White.

And black.

His new favourite colors, he had decided the moment he had seen her walking down to the jumper bay, wearing a simple white tee shirt, black pants, and boots similar to his.

He had nothing against the tight, red shirts she usually wore; on the contrary, a long time ago he had started to think of red as his favourite color. Until now. Now it was most definitely black and white.

It was the smug smile playing on his lips as he leaned against the jumper waiting for her that made her frown softly.

"You´re late." He glanced at his wrist watch.

She offered him a sweet, apologetic smile. "I know. I´m sorry."

He straightened up and offered to take her back bag from her. "Ready to go?"

"Yes."

"Are you two done with the flirting? You think we could get going?" Came McKay´s slightly irritated voice inside the jumper where he had taken a seat in the back, a laptop balanced on his knees.

"We´re going." John followed Elizabeth in and took a seat behind the controls, smiling as she sat on the empty seat next to him. "I asked Rodney to sit back there so you could enjoy the view." He told her.

"I´ve seen the view before, you know."

"I know." He grinned as he easily lifted the jumper into the air. "But I would rather have you here than Rodney..." His eyes were fixed on the controls as he made some adjustments, but he knew she was smiling at him

A few hours later he landed the jumper on the clearing close to the tree line. He stood up and moved to the back where Ronon and Teyla were already gathering their things.

He knew that she would hate to carry the gun he offered her. It had taken a long time for him to finally get her down at the firing range in the first place when they had arrived to Atlantis. But in the late hours of the night, he had taught her to handle every weapon Atlantis had to offer.

Just in case.

She had a basic knowledge of self-defense, but she had started training with Teyla some months after they had found a new home from the city of the ancients.

But she still hated guns.

"Elizabeth." He said softly as the others moved outside, the warm rays of the morning sun greeting them. She lifted her hands a little, allowing his arms circle her as he clipped the holster around her waist. His fingers lingered against her thigh a little longer than intended when he attached the straps around her leg before pulling back and looking at her.

Her hand moved to touch the pistol that rested against her thigh before she turned around to take her vest and pull it on. "Happy now, colonel?" She asked, the tone of her voice light.

"Come on, you two. We don´t have all day." Rodney stood by the end of the ramp, looking expectantly at the two of them before sighing and walking back to Ronon and Teyla.

"Oh, I´m just overjoyed." He replied to her, clipping his P-90 on his vest and gesturing her to go out first. Smiling she walked out into the sun and pushed her sunglasses on before taking a look around them.

"Oh god, we´re back in Kansas." He stopped beside her and stared what looked like never ending wheat field to him and grinned at her happily. "Let´s get moving then."

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They reached the small village after a couple of hours walk and were greeted by the large group of children. She glanced back at him over her shoulder, smiling as the little hands took hers and let her down the road.

Both Rodney and Ronon frowned as the children surrounded them, but Teyla let the children to lead her down the narrow road after Elizabeth. John lifted a small toddler in his arms much to the other children´s delight and followed them inside the village.

A few hours later he tore his eyes away from Elizabeth at whom he had been staring since she had been led away to sit with the elders of the village, and turned to look to where Rodney was sitting. Chuckling softly at the miserable look on the scientist´s face, he lazily left his spot on the sun and walked to him.

"Hey kids."

The children looked up from where they were sitting around Rodney and John smiled down at them. "Rodney. Whatcha doin´?"

"Colonel." Rodney jumped up, making the children stand up as well.

"You have quite a fan club here." John stated grinning, glancing around the children that surrounded them again.

"Funny, I was just going to say the same thing." Rodney smirked, nodding his head toward the small group of giggling teenage girls who had followed John.

"Just do your thing, McKay." John sighed and lifted his gun a little as the curious little fingers got closer. "No, honey. That´s dangerous." He said softly at the little girl.

He returned to where he had been sitting on the side of the well, the children following and sitting down on the ground around him.

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A small smile played on Elizabeth´s lips as she watched him from where she was sitting with the village elders. He politely turned down the offered drinks and fruits, sighing as the next tray was placed in front of him, the young women ready to fulfill his every wish.

"Not many men have turned one of our daughters down." Said a soft voice next to her and Elizabeth turned to smile at the older woman.

"Well, he hasn´t turned young, beautiful women down before either."

"Well, people change," the other woman patted her arm gently, smiling knowingly. "We would be honored if you would stay for meal."

"We´d love to."

John watched her walking across the small square to where he sat, the group of children sitting on the ground in front of him.

"Elizabeth."

"Hey." She smiled the sight in front of her. "I see you have made new friends."

"Yeah. We had an interesting conversation about the kitten called...what was that again?" He turned to look at the children.

"Shep." They giggled in unison.

"That´s right. Lora´s," he pointed the little dark haired girl, "cat got kittens a few days ago and she named one after me." He told her proudly.

"I can name of after you too if you want me to." Lora said shyly.

"Oh, no..."

"That´s a great idea." John nodded the girl and she beamed at him before the sound of the bell made them run away.

"It´s a meal time. We have been invited to stay." Elizabeth explained "Where are Teyla and Ronon?"

"Taking a look around the village, at least that better be all." He added quietly before reaching for his radio and calling them back.

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So, I´ll try to update daily, if you like this. Let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks guys, for reading, reviewing and adding me to your alerts. You have totally earned another chapter.

Enjoy!

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It was still warm, even though the sun was slowly starting to set on the horizon. John watched Elizabeth behind his sunglasses as she said her goodbyes to the five older women of the village. A small hand tucking the hem of her vest made her look down at the dark haired girl who held two little kittens in her arms.

"Oh, no, honey." She kneeled down, smiling to the girl and reaching to touch the silky hair of the small kitten. "We can´t take your kittens."

"But I want you to have them." Lora said before placing the kittens on her lap. "This is Shep," she pointed the black kitten. "And I named this one Izzie. After you." The black and white one meowed softly, placing the silky little paws against her arm and reaching up.

"I..." Elizabeth started objecting before changing her mind and smiling to Lora. "Thank you, Lora." She took a better hold of the kittens and stood up. "We will take good care of them, I promise."

She glanced at Teyla who stood behind her and gave the small kittens to her. Teyla put them carefully on the small bag she carried and smiled to Lora, promising she would carry them home carefully.

Elizabeth turned to look at the elders one more time, receiving approving smiles from the women. Lora was a great granddaughter of the eldest and her gift has been a test. Their friendship was now accepted.

With last goodbyes they left the village and started their long walk back to the jumper. Ronon and Teyla walked ahead of them, Rodney strolling slowly behind, eyes fixed on his computer tablet.

Elizabeth glanced at John as they walked in silence. His arm rested casually against his P-90, eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. He was wearing a black tee shirt and pants, military issued boots and the vest that covered his upper body. Arms and face slightly tanned because of his time on the sunny planet. And he was smirking at her as he caught her staring.

"What?" She asked, turning her eyes away.

"Nothing." He was still smirking smugly.

She sighed in mock annoyance at him and he chuckled softly. "It was a good day." He changed subject smoothly.

"It was, wasn´t it." She smiled in return and he was happy to see the smile reaching her eyes.

"Guys!" Rodney called and they stopped, turning back to look at him. "I´m getting some interesting readings behind that hill. We should check it out."

John frowned and walked to where the scientist was standing. "Define interesting."

"Interesting like we should go and check it out."

John glanced at his wrist watch. "It´s getting dark soon."

"It´ll only take a minute. We should really check this out."

Teyla glanced at the small bag she was carrying. "I believe the kittens should be fed soon. Maybe I should head back to the jumper." Her words made both Ronon and John turn to look at her frowning. John because he wasn´t sure if he wanted a member of his team to turn to a female James Herriot, and Ronon because he was pretty sure the kittens would get his place in her bed for the next day or so.

"Fine, go and feed the damn cats." John sighed, almost starting to understand why she chose the cats before listening Rodney ramble about something that should have been interesting.

"I´ll go with her. In case she needs help, or something..." Ronon said, earning a soft smile from Teyla.

John glared at the taller man suspiciously. "Help. Right."

"Well, colonel," Elizabeth smiled at him softly. "I think I´ll keep you company then."

"Very well." He smiled at her in return and then turned to look at Ronon and Teyla. "You two, return to the jumper and we´ll be back in half an hour. Rodney, lead the way."

"I can´t believe she chose the cats before this. I always thought she was the adventurous one." Rodney glanced up from his computer.

"The kittens were a gift from the great granddaughter of the village elder. We really need to take good care of them." Elizabeth smiled softly.

"I´m a cat person as much as anyone. In fact, I had a cat back in Earth. Gave it to my neighbor." The look on Rodney´s face softened a little. "I miss him."

Ten minutes later John took off his sunglasses and glanced at his watch again. "Come on, McKay." He called, slightly annoyed that they hadn´t found anything yet.

Elizabeth smiled at the scientist´s reply coming from the tree line and turned to look at John. "Give him a few more minutes."

He nodded, a hand coming to rest against his gun. "So, what are you gonna do with the kittens?"

"Me?" She asked smiling. "I believe the other one is yours, colonel. Being named after you and all."

"I don´t want a cat."

"Well who said I want one?"

He smirked at her and she chuckled softly. "We´ll think of something."

"We ain´t givin´ them to Rodney, that´s for sure."

"Why not? He loves cats, you heard him yourself."

"It´s my cat."

She chuckled again. "You are one complicated man, colonel. You know that?"

"But you love the challenge."

It was a well planned ambush. For a long time they had waited for the right time. Hiding in the shadows, watching them. Waiting. Until now.

Even with years of training, and simply living under the constant threat that the Wraith were, John felt the pain on his side before realizing they had been ambushed. The blast hit him on the back, ripping through the vest that should have protected him.

She was close enough to grab him when his legs gave in and he stumbled forward, but she had no strength to hold his dead weight and she slid on the ground with him.

His shirt was soaked and she felt the warmth of the deep red blood dripping through her fingers as her hands pressed tightly against the wound.

"God." The word escaping his lips was filled with agony as he struggled to breathe, pain burning in his lung with every breath.

"No, don´t move." She tore her eyes away from the wound to look at his pain twitched face.

If she would have been a soldier, her attention wouldn´t have been so blindly on the man who was slowly bleeding to death. She had no training for situations like that. The few hours she had spent with Carson to go through the basic first aid hadn´t covered the blast gun wounds. She used her other hand to reach for her radio, leaving bloody stains against her white tee shirt.

"Ronon, Teyla, this is Weir, Colonel Sheppard´s been hit, I need a med—" Her voice trailed off when she realized someone was standing next to them. She lifted her eyes to look straight to the weapon that was pointed to her.

Her hand moved down from the radio slowly, her eyes staring the gun. John had slipped into a painless state of unconsciousness, still bleeding on the ground through her hands.

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You know what would I like? Yes, you got that right. Let me know if you liked. More to come.


	3. Chapter 3

Oh, keep the lovely reviews coming, and enjoy the new chapter.

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"We need her alive."

She had been pulled roughly up from the ground and away from him. Her hands were sticky with his blood and she tried to wipe them on her shirt as they walked.

The sun had already almost disappeared below the horizon and the sky bathed in different shades of red. The large ship in front of them shimmered in silver as the last rays of the setting sun danced around it.

And it looked almost beautiful. Almost.

It felt like a massive electric shock when the stunner blast hit her, and she barely felt the pair of arms catching her before the darkness took over. Her limp body was carried up the ramp and laid down on the bed of her small cell.

She jerked awake from her dreamless sleep. Ignoring the stabbing pain in her head she pushed herself to sit, glancing around the small, dark cell. Involuntary shivers ran through her body and she reached to rub her arms with her hands, only to feel the dried blood that still covered them.

Fear washed over her as she remembered him taking the hit, the blood running from his wound. A soft moan came from the dark corner of the small cell.

"John." She would have recognized his voice anywhere.

He was still only coming out from his unconsciousness, but the pulse beat under her fingers was strong. Her hands moved down his body, carefully unzipping his vest and pushing it aside to see the wound better.

There was a burnt hole in his shirt and the blood had dried on his skin and clothes, but she couldn´t see the wound. Gently she let her fingers brush against his side as she examined his body.

"What the hell happened?" He groaned softly. He lay on his back, staring the unfamiliar ceiling above him before turning to look at her. "Where the hell are we?"

She helped him to sit and he leaned heavily against the wall, groaning at the stabbing pain in his head.

"I guess we´re at the hive ship." She watched his face twitching with pain worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He opened his eyes to look at her. "Just a headache."

"You were shot." Her voice was shaking slightly and she turned her eyes away, not wanting him to see the agitated look in her eyes.

"What?"

She wiped her hands against her pants as she told him, unconsciously trying to wipe the dried blood away. His hold was gentle when he captured her hands with his own.

"I´m fine."

She nodded.

He reached to feel the skin on his side, feeling the hole in his shirt and the blood but no wound.

"I don´t understand." She said quietly, watching him. "I saw you take the hit."

The sudden sound of the doors opening in the end of the hallway made him push himself to stand. The sight of the white-haired wraith walking toward their cell made him grimace. He took a stand slightly in front of her and crossed his arms across his chest.

The door slid open quietly and the wraith stepped inside, a guard behind him. He stared Elizabeth with interest before turning his eyes to John. "She comes with us."

"I don´t think so." John replied.

"I don´t want to shoot you again, colonel Sheppard." The wraith said smiling slyly. "The healing process could be much more painful for you than it just was." His eyes fixed on Elizabeth again. "Move aside."

"You´re not taking her."

"Please, colonel." The wraith´s grey eyes turned back to him. "Let´s not make this difficult. I—"

John´s attack against them was quick. The knife he had hid in his vest hit the guard in the neck, making him fall on his knees and then dead on the ground. The same time he elbowed the wraith on the face, just before silently breaking his neck with one smooth move, lowering the dead body on the ground without a sound.

He grabbed a weapon on the floor and turned to Elizabeth to grab her arm when the stunning blast hit him on the back and he fell unconscious on the ground.

Another wraith stepped from the shadows holding a stunner. "Come." It wasn´t a request, and his hold against her arm was going to leave bruises as he dragged her away.

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He woke some time later without his vest and his head still hurting. With one look around the cell he realized that she was still gone. Running a hand through his hair he sighed, angry at himself for failing with their probably best shot of escaping.

It felt like hours when the doors opened again and he left without a fight, allowing two guards to escort him. The room to which he was taken was brightly lit and he saw Elizabeth lying on one of the beds, strapped down and unconscious.

"What did you do to her?" He took a step to where she was lying, but the guard hit him on the back with the back of his gun making him stumble forward and take support from the empty bed.

At a nod from the wraith the guards forced him to lie down on the bed, strapping his hands and legs. He stared Elizabeth lying on the bed next to his, clearly undressed but covered with white clothing. He felt a sting in his arm and turned his head to see a needle being emptying into his vein. Feeling the effect immediately he slipped into the darkness without a word.

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The bed felt uncomfortable under her as she slowly woke from her sleep.

Pushing herself up to sit she realized that her blood covered clothes were replaced by a simple white dress. She glanced at her arms and hands that had been washed clean from his blood.

"John?" She asked softly, kneeling down on the ground next to where he was lying. "John?"

He groaned in answer and rolled on his back. Her hands against his face felt soft, comforting, and he leaned slightly against her touch before forcing his eyes open.

"You okay?"

He sat up and she pulled away a little, her hands dropping on her lap. "Well, you´ve changed into something more comfortable." He said as he saw her new outfit.

Her hand smoothed down the soft fabric. "So have you." She gestured the simple pants and a shirt he wore, trying not to think of the previous owners of their clothing.

She stood up, wincing softly at the pain in her stomach.

"What is it?" He asked, his hand moving to her side.

She lay back on the bed, allowing him to lift the dress so he could take a look. The small bandage covered the small cut on her stomach and he frowned.

"What the hell did they do to you?"

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It´s only fair that after I wrote you this one, you write something back to me, don´t you agree?


	4. Chapter 4

It´s late in here already, but I was so delighted by your lovely reviews that I decided to give you a new chapter. Hope you like.

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She was taken away every day for some hours before being returned to their cell, most of the times the guard carrying her unconscious body to lay her down on the bed. She was treated well, better than John anyway. The bruises on his body didn´t have a chance to heal before the new ones appeared after his daily interrogation.

The days had turned to weeks and she had lost count of how long they had been imprisoned.

The darkness in their cell was almost comforting as she sat on the ground next to their bed, her hand gently caressing his hair as he laid there, the sleep offering his body the rest it so desperately craved.

His breathing changed as he slowly left the dreamland and returned back to the painful reality. She shifted to see his face, touching his unshaved cheek with her hand.

"You okay?"

"I´m fine." He lied, knowing she could tell anyway, and pushed himself to sit.

He sighed tiredly and she moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "God, John. We have to get you out of here. You can´t take this anymore."

"Neither can you." He said, capturing her hand with his own.

"I´m fine." She used her other hand to brush her fingers against his cheek before letting it slide down above his heart. The beat under her palm felt comforting.

He hated not to know what they did to her when she was taken in that brightly lit room and strapped down on the bed. She had no memory and he had only been taken there himself a few times, never having a chance to even look around before the needle was stuck in his arm and he had drifted into the darkness.

The door slid open quietly and their daily meal was placed on the floor along with the bowl of water and a small cloth. She reached for their food and placed them on the bed next to him before taking the bowl and the cloth.

"Lift your shirt." She said softly, dipping the cloth in the water.

"´Lizabeth." His voice was thick and tired.

Her fingers were gently against his sides as she pushed his shirt up, revealing his bruised torso. He watched her face as she cleaned his wounds without a word before carefully pulling his shirt back down. Her hands were shaking and he captured them with his own.

"Liz." She looked up at the sound of the nickname he so rarely used and fought against the tears that burned in her eyes.

Her fingers curled tightly around the fabric of his tee shirt as he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. She was slowly breaking up, the tiredness and feel of constant fear washing over her. He just held her, letting her cry softly against his chest until she finally pulled away a little to look at him sadly.

He cupped her face with his hands, his thumbs brushing away the tears from her cheeks. She sighed softly, almost like giving up, and he felt his heart ache because of the desperate look in her eyes.

Pulling her gently closer he kissed her forehead, slowly, softly trailing down to kiss her closed eyes. She sighed again, quietly, longingly. He pulled back to look at her, thumbs caressing her face again.

"We´ll get through this." He promised.

She wanted to believe him, but that hope had been lost long time ago.

His eyes fell on her lips and she licked them unconsciously, knowing that he was going to kiss her. She knew that their first kiss wasn´t going to be anything she had imagined, but shared in the dark cell because of the fear of losing each other, and the realization of that made her clung onto him a little more tightly.

He lowered his head and she shifted closer to him, hands still gripping his shirt. She didn´t close her eyes, she still half expected him to grin softly at her, just before their lips would meet, like he would no doubt have done had they shared the kiss on their balcony like they should have. In the shadows of the city, Atlantis herself protecting them from the prying eyes.

But his lips never reached hers.

The sound of the door opening made him look up sharply. He had no time to react when she was suddenly pulled roughly from his arms and the electric pain shot through his body.

"You son of a..." His verbal attack was cut short as another touch of the pain stick against his chest made him fall on his back, his body convulsing with pain.

He barely heard her desperate voice as she begged them to stop, the final kick on his face sending him into painless unconsciousness.

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	5. Chapter 5

Thanks so much for the great reviews! You´re the best. And with your reviews, you have earned another chapter.

Hope you enjoy!

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"She is not doing well."

"We are treating her well. Considering."

"Yes. But she is worried over Sheppard. If you want this experiment to succeed, you have to leave him alone. For her sake. Her stress level is too high."

"Very well. For now." The voices invaded in her sleep as the medication started slowly disappearing from her system.

She woke up slowly from her hazy, dreamless sleep, feeling weak and nauseous. Involuntary shivers run through her and she tried to move. But the straps on her hands and legs held her tightly against the bed.

"I see you have awakened." The wraith stepped closer to the bed, looking down at her. "How are you feeling?"

"What do you care?" She asked tiredly, hoping she would have more strength to fight against them.

"We have great plans for you, Dr Weir." The wraith´s smile wasn´t a kind one as he untied her hands. "You will be staying as our guest for some time, I will try to make it as comfortable to you as possible. That is, of course, if you will behave."

She jerked her hand away from the wraith´s grip, rolling on her side and stumbling down from the medical bed. "What do you want from us?" Her eyes searched around the room, trying to find something to use as a weapon.

The wraith smiled at her. "The drug is still in effect. I will escort you back to your cell." He gestured her toward the door where the armed guard stood. She walked slowly, but the wraith didn´t hurry her as their made their way through the hallways of the ship.

John struggled to sit on the bed when he heard the door opening. His eyes found hers and she slipped inside the cell without a word.

"Colonel Sheppard." The wraith greeted smiling. "I am glad to see you on your feet again."

"I feel great. Why don´t you come inside and see it yourself." He took a step closer to the doorway, forcing the wraith turn a little.

The cocky look on the human´s face made the wraith look at him arrogantly. "For the sake of our experience, we will not harm Dr Weir, but soon, we will have no use for you, colonel Sheppard. And when we are finished with you, you will be the first I feed upon." He said, the winning smile returning into his lips.

"Okay. I´ve heard that one before." John pulled his hands from his pockets to cross them over his chest. "Not looking forward to it though."

"Step aside."

"I don´t think so."

"You really are going to resist us?"

"Oh please," John sighed almost dramatically. "You should know better by now. _Of course_ I´m going to resist you."

He knew he was going to pay for his smart-ass comment and waited the pain to come, but the small wave of the hand the wraith stopped the guard and the hit never came.

He reacted fast, and his sudden attack surprised them all. The guard had lost his weapon to John before he had even realized and fell on the ground from a blast shot to his chest. The wraith´s wrathful scream stopped short and he dropped on the ground lifeless.

The adrenaline rushed through John´s system and he secured the hallway before he nodded to Elizabeth to follow him. It wasn´t the first hive ship in which he had been imprisoned and he remembered his way through the dimly lit hallways, pushing her out of sight as the sound of foot steps closed around the corner.

His body kept her pinned against the wall and she could feel his warm breath against her cheek. The steps moved away and she felt him relaxing a little, resting his forehead against her shoulder for a moment. He had one hand surrounding around her waist, the other holding the blast gun.

"We should keep going." He said softly as he pulled away, forcing back the feeling of her body pressed against his.

She followed him silently through the hallways, trusting he had a plan to get them out of the ship safely. A sudden wave of dizziness made her stop and lean against the wall, her eyes falling close.

"What´s wrong?" He turned to look at her, the worry clear in his eyes.

"Nothing. I´m fine." She forced herself to keep going, fighting against the feeling of sickness.

"John." He heard her whispering before pulling her hand free from his and emptying her stomach on the dark corner.

He frowned. "Can you keep up?"

She nodded, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. He cupped her face with his hands, pushing back the dark hair. "We´ll get out of here. We´re almost there."

He slowed down their run for her to keep up even though he wanted them out of there as soon as possible. The sound of alarm made him curse, knowing that their escape had been noticed.

"We´re almost there. Just around the corner."

The hangar bay was empty and for a moment he thought that maybe it was a little too easy for them to escape. He turned to look at her. "Wait here."

She nodded her head, squeezing his hand a little tighter. "Be careful."

His lips brushed against her cheek, his forehead resting against hers for a moment. "I´ll be right back." He promised.

"I´ll be here."

He left her there. And only a little later she heard the familiar sound that she had learned to hate as the dart got closer and the white energy beam brushed the ground, taking her with it.

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Well, by now you should already know that I love feedback. Next chapter should be up sometime tomorrow because _I know_ you like quick updates.


	6. Chapter 6

Love you for reading and reviewing. Thanks so much!

Hope you enjoy the new chapter!

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"So, what happened last night?" Major Lorne didn´t need to look at the woman walking next to him to know she was blushing.

"What do you mean?" She asked casually, ignoring the grin on her CO´s face.

"Well, I heard about the dinner."

"Oh, that." The smile on her face was sweet and innocent when she glanced at him.

He stopped to look around, having no idea where to go. The path they had tried to follow the last hour had disappeared under the tall grass years ago. "Maybe we should head back." He said, clicking his radio to contact the two other members of his team asking if they had found anything.

"Okay, meet you at the jumper. Lorne out." He sighed disappointed at the negative reply he had received.

"So," he started again after a few minutes of silence. "Want to tell me about it?"

"Not really."

"Oh, come on, Cadman." He frowned. "I know something but I can´t tell you because I´m not sure if you know it yet."

"You mean this?" She held her left hand up, the gold band in her ring finger catching the rays of the sun.

"Yes." Lorne grinned.

She stopped to look at him, narrowing her eyes warningly. "So you knew." It wasn´t really a question.

"Well, yeah."

"And you didn´t tell me that he was going to ask me to marry him."

"I would have told you if he hadn´t asked you soon. I mean, god, he got that ring the last time he was on Earth. Like four months ago." The major frowned over dramatically.

"Really?" Her voice softened.

He opened his mouth to say something more about the Atlantis´ Chief Medical Officer, but a quiet beep interrupted him and he pulled the life sign detector from his pocket. "Two life signs." Two blue dots had appeared on the small screen. "North."

The tall grass rustled quietly under their feet as they ran toward the shallow creek that ran lazily behind the small hill. They had crossed it earlier, the water barely reaching to their ankles.

He tightened his hold of his P-90, lifting it slightly, ready for whatever was waiting for them. She nodded quietly as he signaled her to move on his left.

The crash-landed dart shimmered in silver farther and two bodies lay on the ground close to each other near the water as they approached them quietly, weapons ready. He recognized her immediately. "Jesus." His weapon still pointing around the area he quickened his steps and dropped on his knees next to her body.

"It´s Sheppard and Weir. Go check on him." He called to Cadman before reaching for his radio.

Laura kneeled down by John, her fingers reaching to feel the pulse from his neck. "He´s alive." She called, rolling him carefully on his back, grimacing softly at the sight of his bruised body.

"Come on, Elizabeth." Lorne murmured softly, her name sounding strange coming from the young major´s lips. A relieved sigh escaped him as she reacted to her name.

"John?" Her eyes fluttered open just enough for him to see before she lulled back to unconsciousness.

The now familiar sound of the dart made Lorne curse loudly and he whipped around to fire in the direction of the closing ship. He reached for his radio with his other hand. "Jones, Reed, you better hurry, we´ve got company here!"

Young lieutenant´s reply was the drone that hit straight into the first dart as the cloaked jumper landed smoothly close to them. "You get Sheppard!" Lorne called to Reed who rushed out from the jumper to help them.

Cadman had taken her defending position close to the open doors and fired toward the second dart. "Sir, we have three more coming!"

"Son of a..." The curse words escaped from Lorne´s lips as he pushed his weapon back and lifted Elizabeth´s limp body in his arms to carry her inside the jumper. "Go!"

Laura was already working with the first aid kit they had, kneeling on the floor next to John. "We should inform Doctor Beckett." The young marine didn´t look up from the wound she had covered with a bandage.

Lorne nodded. "I´ll let them know."

-----

It had been a long three hours for Carson as he took care of the two leaders of Atlantis after the jumper had landed on the jumper bay.

Both of his patients were still unconscious and he hoped to keep them that way a little while longer, offering their bodies time to start the healing process. He filled three vials with Elizabeth´s blood before placing her arm gently back on the bed. The nurse took the vials from him and without asking knew that Carson would want the results back as soon as possible.

He rounded the bed to check on John´s IV line and the monitor that showed his vitals. Writing down the readings he set the chart on the table and pulled the curtain half closed to give them at least a little privacy

Laura walked down to the infirmary and smiled as she saw her fiancé sitting in his office. She glanced quickly at the ring on her left hand, smiling softly at the memory of the previous night when he had asked her to marry him.

"Hey."

"Hey." He smiled as he saw her standing by the doorway. "I thought you had a briefing with Colonel Caldwell."

"I did." She walked to him, leaning to kiss him on the lips. "It´s late, Carson."

He nodded. He knew.

"How´re they doing?"

"We know better when we get the results back." He lifted his hands to rub his face. The wave of tiredness washed over him and he sighed. "Colonel Sheppard is worse. Broken ribs, concussion, cuts and bruises. He has been tortured good."

Her eyes glanced back to where they were sleeping. "What about Dr Weir?"

"She seems better." Carson sighed softly. "We have to wait the blood results." He had seen the small cuts on her abdomen, the puncture marks on her arms. Evidence of being tied up on her wrists and ankles.

Laura reached to take his hand, pulling him up from his seat. "Let´s go to bed. To sleep." She added as the slow smile crept on his lips. "Sleep is all you´re getting tonight, mister."

A small, tired chuckle escaped him as he followed her out from the infirmary and into her quarters.

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It´s not that lots of reviews equals fast updates´, because this is pretty much the fastest I can update. But, I won´t lie and say that your reviews don't make me happy.


	7. Chapter 7

Kiitos. Thank you. Efharisto. Merci. Grazias. Danke. Grazie. For reviewing. (If I didn´t thank _you_ in _your_ language, feel free to tell me how it´s done.)

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A week later John was still staying at the infirmary, but was allowed to stay up a few hours at the time. The soft sounds of the crashing waves below was heard in the briefing room, and it seemed that Carson had become a mind reader as he had opened the balcony doors, allowing the fresh sea air to fill the room.

Elizabeth felt the light summer breeze dancing around her and inhaled softly the salty air. The damp smell and darkness of their cell at the hive ship still haunted her at nights.

Colonel Caldwell glanced at her carefully before turning his attention back to Rodney. She looked better, but had still refused to take her position as the expedition leader because she was still staying her nights at the infirmary with John.

"But why would they keep you there for two months if not interrogation?" Rodney asked. "You said they hardly asked you anything about Atlantis, or Earth."

"Yeah, well, I guess they had more fun just beating me up."

Elizabeth turned her head away to look at the sea through the open door and John regretted the light tone he had used to answer to the scientist.

"The darts that came after you, didn´t fire their weapons. We were an easy target for a while there. They could have killed us if want to." Lorne said. "It was almost like they wanted you to come back alive."

"I´m with the major in this one." McKay pointed out. "You said the dart you used to escape was fired at. But only to cause damage enough to force you to land. They could have blown you up easily back then."

"Let´s keep a little break." Caldwell dismissed Ronon, Teyla, Lorne, Beckett and McKay before slowly standing up himself and walking to where Elizabeth was still staring out.

"Elizabeth." He said softly and smiled when she finally turned to look at him. "It´s been only a week. Take all the time you need. I am merely keeping your chair warm for you."

"Thank you, Steven." Her smile didn´t reach to her eyes but he nodded and with a quick glance to John who had followed the exchange he left the room, leaving them in the silence.

"You okay?" John asked and smiled as she chuckled at his question.

"I´m fine." Her reply continued their game that had started years ago.

"Maybe I should ask that differently from now on."

"Maybe."

He knew about her nightmares. Often at nights he woke up as she called out his name or begged someone to stop. Those first nights Carson had given her something to help her sleep through the night. But the nightmares were still there.

Watching her sitting there he suddenly realized something. His feelings for her had changed. Become more stronger.

Pushing himself up from his seat, he reached to take her hand and pulled her up to follow him outside to the balcony. Her hand was still in his when he turned to look to the horizon, the warmth of the sun caressing them gently.

He pulled her gently closer to him, their bodies touching. Her free hand rested against his chest and she felt the beat of his heart under her palm.

"John."

His hands moved to her waist, fingers sneaking under the hem of her shirt, caressing the bare skin gently. "I´m going to kiss you now." He grinned softly at her just before their lips met.

Her eyes fell close at the gentle touch of his warm lips and her hands wrapped around his neck. The kiss was soft and loving. Gentle and caring. And everything she had ever dreamed off. He pulled away to look at her, his hand moving from her waist to brush back a lock of dark hair.

"Well, that was worth the wait." He whispered, pressing his lips against hers again.

The sound of the doors opening maybe slightly louder than normally made them pull apart and John turned to see Carson walking out. "The bloody doors gave me a hard time getting out here." The doctor complained, glaring back to the open doors.

"So, what´s up, doc?" John asked and Carson rolled his eyes. The colonel never got tired of that one.

"I know what the wraith wanted from you." He said.

-----

"I've run some more tests." Carson started softly.

"And..." John wasn´t the most patient person in the world.

"And," Carson looked at the two of them sitting on John´s bed in the infirmary before continuing. "Elizabeth, well, you´re pregnant."

"What?" She smiled a little confused. "But I haven´t, I mean we´re not..." She glanced at John alarmed.

"Hey, I kissed her for the first time like five minutes ago, and I know I was present at the biology class when we covered that area. I know how these things works."

Carson chuckled even the seriousness of his news and the soft blush crept on Elizabeth face. "It has to be a mistake."

The look on the doctor´s face changed more serious and he shook his head. "I checked it three times myself. I´m sorry, but it´s not a mistake. I´m guessing you are about two months pregnant."

"But, I...I mean, I haven´t been with anyone... Carson, I can´t be pregnant." Her voice was shaking slightly.

Carson sighed. "That´s not all. I ran some other tests too, and uh," his eyes shifted to John. "I believe the wraith had intentions to use you as a some kind of incubator. I think that Colonel Sheppard is the father."

Her hand came to rest on her stomach unconsciously and Carson sighed before continued. "I have to do more tests, and an ultrasound. And we have to discuss what you want to do." He said softly, reaching to touch her arm.

John watched the doctor leave before sliding from the bed and took a few steps away from her, rubbing his neck with his hand. "Son of a bitch!" His sudden out burst made her jump on the bed as she watched him take out all his anger and frustration, his hand sweeping down the instruments from the tray before leaning his hands against her empty bed. The muscles of his arms tightened before he allowed his body to relax and he let his head fell down.

She left the bed and walked to him, reaching to touch his back with her hands. "John."

He turned around and she felt her heart breaking because of the desperate look in his dark eyes. Without a word his arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

The nurses glanced at each other when the silence filled the infirmary again but Carson shook his head. They would clean up the mess later.

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**Author´s note!** I would read if I ´d be you.

So, okay, we have a slight problem. I know I promised you a daily update, but, I am taking a long weekend off starting Thursday and heading to the country house because it´s Midsummer this weekend and I want to enjoy the nightless night!

And, like that wasn´t enough. My three weeks long vacation starts next week and I really want to get this ready and posted before I leave. Don´t want to leave you waiting for the last few chapters that long (aren´t I nice?).

So, I was thinking..._bribery_! I mean, threats and blackmail will most likely work too, but isn´t bribery so much more fun—for me anyway.

I´ll try my best to get this ready soon for you to read.

Thank you.Oh, and don´t forget to review!

-Lia


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks for the reviews.

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"Pregnant?" McKay´s voice broke the silence that had filled the room after Carson had stopped talking.

"Yeah." John nodded.

"So..." McKay continued. "Of all people here, they chose you?" He looked at John, making the colonel frown.

"McKay."

"No, I´m just saying, that if they wanted to create some kind of super kid, who could make a great advance in war with his or her knowledge, why wouldn´t..."

"Dr McKay." Lorne´s voice was warning and the scientist nodded and dropped the subject.

Caldwell turned to look at Elizabeth. "We´ll figure this out. I have a war ship to command but I will assist here as much as I can when we´re around."

"Thank you."

"Have you decided what you want to do?" Teyla asked softly as the men started to rise and leave.

"No." Elizabeth shook her head, her hand moving to touch her stomach.

Teyla nodded and reached to squeeze her hand in friendship. "If you need someone to talk to, know that I am here."

"Thank you, Teyla."

-----

Two days later she laid on the bed in infirmary, her shirt pulled up to reveal her stomach. She felt unable to take her eyes away from the monitor that showed a hazy picture of the baby inside her.

"The embryo is approximately one inch long, and weighs less than one ounce." Carson spoke softly, his eyes fixed on the screen as well. "The major organs are now in place. You can see hands," he pointed the screen and Elizabeth smiled sadly before turning her head away.

Carson turned off the machine and wiped the gel from her stomach. "Everything looks good so far." He said writing down the information in the new chart he had started as she sat up and pulled her shirt back down.

"What if they did something to this baby?" She asked quietly.

"You´re worried if the wraith manipulated the baby´s genes." Carson stopped writing and placed the folder on the table before looking at her. "It´s possible. I won´t lie to you, Elizabeth. They clearly had some kind of plan for this child´s future. They might have interfered the evolution to make this baby to be one of them. With your and colonel Sheppard´s knowledge of Earth and Atlantis this child could be a great advantage for them in the war we are engaged in."

"God." She fought hard against the tears that threatened to fall. "I can´t..."

"But," Carson said gently, taking her hand in his. "It could be that they only used Colonel Sheppard´s DNA to fertilize you."

"Do you believe that´s all?" She asked quietly.

"No." Carson shook his head sadly. "I´m sorry."

She gave in to the tears and turned her head away as they rolled down on her cheeks.

-----

"So," John glanced at his second in command who sat next to him. "What happened here while we were gone?"

Lorne leaned forward. "Well, McKay did pretty good job."

"He did?"

"Yeah," the major nodded. "He was shot by the wraith blast gun, but the new vest we have protected him pretty good and he was able to contact Ronon and Teyla. But it was too late. They saw the hive ship and by the time they got back here, we had no idea where to look." Lorne sipped his coffee. "We contacted Earth, and the Daedalus arrived a few weeks after you...went missing."

"Well, I´ve heard you handled situations pretty good while we were gone."

"Well, we did our best." The major grinned modesty.

"But I´ve heard rumors about a certain promotion."

"Really?" Lorne straightened in his chair.

"Elizabeth told the SGC the good work you´ve done. And I heard both McKay and Caldwell adding a few good words."

"They did?"

"Yeah, and even Ronon told me that you handled things well."

Lorne sipped his coffee to hide his grin. John smiled and patted him on the back. "Congratulations."

Ronon placed a tray on the table and sat down, looking at John. "I have something for you."

"What´s that?" He leaned back in his chair, bringing the cup on his lips and sipping his coffee.

"Two cats."

John chuckled and straightened in his chair, looking at the other man. "_You_´ve been taking care of them? All this time?"

"Not by my choice." The runner glared at him.

"What? You don´t like kittens?"

"I´d like to get my bed cat-free again."

Another chuckle escaped from John and he didn´t even try to hide it. "Teyla choose the kittens before you?"

"Said something about them being so small and taking care of them until you get back. You are back now. I am bringing the damn cats to you tonight."

"You know, I would love to take them, but Elizabeth being pregnant and all..."

Lorne and Ronon shared a knowing smirk. "Well, it´s not like you two are living together or anything." The major, soon to be lieutenant colonel, stated.

"I´m just saying." John glared at the both men. "And besides, Teyla is probably already attached to the little things. You really want to break her heart like that."

Ronon stood up smiling. "Tonight, Sheppard." He said before leaving the two officers sit on the table.

John stood up as well, glancing at Lorne who leaned his elbows casually against the table. "I´m going to see Rodney." John said. "He likes cats, right?"

Lorne chuckled softly before emptying his coffee cup and standing up. He walked casually past the table where a group of women sat laughing softly at something that had been said. "Doctor." He nodded to the long haired woman smiling.

Kate Heightmeyer smiled up to her secret lover and smiled. "Major."

-----

The night was clear. The rays of the full moon danced against the dark water and the soft summer breeze was still warm. But she shivered slightly as the sound of the incoming storm was heard in a distance, the black sky cut with the flashing lighting still far in somewhere above the mainland.

Her hand rested on her stomach that was slowly growing day by day. Already most of her shirts felt tight. A lonely tear rolled down on her cheek and she wiped it away angrily with her other hand. More escaped and finally she just let them fall as she cried softly in the cover of the silent night.

He felt helpless as he watched her from the doorway as she slowly broke apart. Walking quietly to where she was standing by the railing John pulled her into his arms and she accepted his embrace without a word, wrapping her own arms around him. She rested her wet cheek against his shoulder and closed her eyes as more tears fell free.

It was quiet. Like everything around them was mourning with her. She felt the wave of tiredness washing over her, the warmth of his body luring her into a sleep that her mind and body so desperately craved.

But he pulled away slowly and she lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him. He cupped her face gently with his hands, using his thumbs to wipe away the tears. Her eyes fell closed and another warm tear slid down her cheek.

"I´m so tired." She whispered, leaning slightly against his touch.

"I know." His lips pressed softly against her cheek. "Come on, let´s go to bed."

She let him lead her through the dim lighted hallways into her quarters, his hand tightly holding hers, their fingers entwined. The doors closed after them with a quiet hiss and she walked to her bed, pulling him with her.

He sat her down on the edge of her bed and kneeled in front of her to take off her shoes before laying her down.

"John." Her voice was tired with crying and everything she had been through.

"I´m not going anywhere." He said softly and she listened him placing his weapon on the table and untying his boots before slipping under the covers with her.

The night was warm and the covers were heavy, but she still moved closer to him and his arms wrapped around her.

"What if they did something to this baby?"

He closed his eyes, his heart aching because of the fear he heard in her voice. He didn´t have an answer to her, and she didn´t expected one.

"For a moment I thought... that maybe if I..." the words trailed off as she closed her eyes ashamed. "That maybe if I, maybe if I..." she couldn´t say the word but he understood.

"I hated myself for that."

"It´s okay." He said softly.

"It´s not okay. God." Her body tensed with shame again. "I actually hoped that I would lose..."

He had never seen her like this. So lost and desperate. And he didn´t know how to comfort her, so he just held her tighter. "It´ll be okay." He whispered into her hair and she cried again, heart-breaking until she had no more strength to cry, until there were no more tears to shed.

And then she fell asleep. And he lay awake for a long time, listening her soft breathing, and the closing storm.

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Okay, it was a little angsty. Hope you still liked. Don´t forget to review.

Next chapter will be up on Sunday. See you then.

-Lia


	9. Chapter 9

I´m back! Glad to see me? I hope so, because here´s the next chapter for you. Enjoy!

And thank you _all _so much for reviewing and adding me to your alerts again. I am deligthed.

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The crash of thunder woke her up from her sleep the next morning and she opened her eyes to see the sky grey, rain drops sliding down against the glass of the windows and balcony doors, wind howling outside the city.

An arm tightened its hold against her waist and she rolled on her back, turning her head on her pillow to face him. He was lying on his side, his arm still around her. The look on his face was still sleepy but he was smiling at her softly.

"Hey."

She surprised them both by reaching to cup his face with her hands and kissing him softly on the lips before pulling away. "Hey." Her fingers brushed against his rough cheek. "When was the last time you shaved?"

He chuckled and lifted his head to see the clock on her nightstand. She turned her head to see the time as well, sighing at the numbers. "We should probably get up."

"I need a shower." He groaned as he sat up, realizing that he was still wearing his clothing from the previous day. The floor felt cold even under his socks clad feet and he glanced by the door where he had left his boots. The pain on his sides was still there but it was bearable, and his fingers reached to touch the well healing ribs carefully. He ran a hand through his hair before rubbing his chin. "And that shave."

Still surrounded of the warmth of the bed she watched him tying his boots and strapping his gun against his waist. "I´m meeting Carson in an hour, if you want to come." She asked.

Sitting back on the bed next to her he reached to take her hand, playing with her fingers for a moment before answering. "Have you made your decision? About the...baby?"

She tried to read his face, wanting to know what he wanted. But finally giving up as he didn´t look at her, she shook her head softly. "No."

He nodded and leaned to press a small kiss against her forehead before standing up, resultantly dropping her hand. "Okay. I´ll see you there."

-----

She had slowly started to hate the infirmary where she lay on the now familiar bed once again.

Carson didn´t pressure her as he waited for her to talk, only watching her carefully as she leaned against the soft pillows. He had pulled out a stool to sit next to her bed and had taken off his white coat, trying to make her feel a little more comfortable.

"I just don´t know." She sighed, her voice almost desperate. How could she make a decision like that?

"You don´t need to decide just yet." Carson said quietly. "We can wait a few more days if you need more time to think."

John leaned against the other bed, arms crossed across his chest, watching her struggle with the decision. "Doc, you think..." He nodded his head, silently asking him to give them a moment alone.

Carson turned to look at the other man and stood up. "I´ll leave you two alone for a moment."

She watched him disappear around the curtain that was pulled to give them some privacy, even they were there alone. Her hand smoothed her belly, a sad smile flickering on her lips as she felt the small bump that was a physical proof that there was indeed a small baby growing inside of her. John moved to sit on the edge of her bed, capturing her hand with his.

"Whatever you decide..." He left his words hang in the air.

"What if they did something horrible to the baby? What if it will be mutated or will turn to wraith. Or what if it will be pure evil and we have no choice but..." She glanced upwards as the tears filled her eyes.

"What if it´ll be just fine?" His question made her look at him sadly. "There´s lots of what ifs, Liz."

"You want this baby?"

"I want you to know that I am here for you in any case."

She looked away. "They did something."

"They put the baby inside of you. Now, that wasn´t the way I was thinking it would happen, I mean, they could have just asked us to..." He stopped when she chuckled softly and then got serious again. "I´m sure they had a plan for all this, but maybe we can change it. Maybe they just wanted to breed a child that would have all our knowledge. Maybe there´s nothing more. Maybe they didn´t even succeeded."

"And what if it´s just the opposite. What if it will be some horrible super human who will destroy us all?"

He sighed. "We don´t know what will happen."

"No, we don´t."

"It could bring the end of the worlds, or it could just be a baby."

"What would you do if it wasn´t yours? What if someone else was in this situation, what would you do? As a ranking military officer." She asked, her voice breaking slightly with emotions.

"Hell, I don´t know." He let go of her hand and stood up. "This isn´t exactly something I have been thinking about before."

Tears she had fought against fell now free and she hated the hormones that made her so sensitive. He sighed softly as he watched her wiping the tears away and sat back down next to her.

"I would probably the opposite of what I am going to say if this would happen to someone else." He said truthfully. "But I can´t be objective about this. Not when we are talking about our baby."

"You want it." She stated softly, sadness filling her voice.

"I guess I do."

His hand moved to brush her cheeks, wiping away the tears. "But whatever you decide." He repeated his earlier words.

She shut her eyes, leaning against his touch.

She had made her decision.

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I know what I want? Do you?

Thanks for reading.


	10. Chapter 10

Because the last few chapters have been quite angsty, I thought you would like to read some fluff for a change...so, here ya go! (Teeny tiny mention of "The Eye".)

Enjoy!

And thanks for reviewing.

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It was still raining when she sat on the edge of the bed some hours later, listening the thunder crashing somewhere above the city. The storm still brought back a memory of the time when they had fought against Kolya and his strike force. She could still feel his arm wrapped around her as he backed them toward the gate and then him jerking back as the bullet pierced his shoulder and he was forced to let go of her.

She closed her eyes at the memory, her hand moving into her belly, almost as if unconsciously protecting the small life that still grew inside of her. Her voice was soft when the old ancient words left her lips as she quietly talked to the unborn child.

"That sounded nice." His voice startled her and she opened her eyes to see him standing by the bathroom door, a towel wrapped around his waist. "What did you say?"

"God, John." She sighed, a little annoyed at the grin on his face. "You scared me."

"Well, you sneaked in my room while I was showering."

"I hardly sneaked." She smiled, tearing her eyes away from his bare chest.

"You okay?" The look on his face softened and he looked at her worriedly.

"I´m fine."

"It´s not that I´m not happy to see you here," a smile crept back on his lips as he watched her blush softly having been caught staring at his half naked body. "But what are you doing here this late of the night?"

"I´m sorry. I shouldn´t have come." She stood up slowly, a little embarrassed.

He grabbed her by the arm, his grip gentle when he stopped her leaving. "What´s wrong?"

Her eyes followed the lonely water drop that fell from his hair and ran down to his chest. He used his hand to lift her chin, gently forcing her to look at him. "Elizabeth?"

She had no explanation. No reason why she was there.

But he didn´t need one, really. His lips touched hers and a small sigh that escaped from her was everything he wanted to hear, and he felt his body reacting to her closeness as she pressed against him. He pulled away slightly, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Elizabeth." He breathed out her name quietly. "If you´re not su—" Her lips against his again stopped him and he deepened the kiss, his hands finding a way under her shirt to caress her sides.

Another soft sigh left her parted lips when he moved to kiss her neck. He pulled away enough to pull her shirt over her head and toss the red clothing somewhere behind him on the floor where it landed without a sound. She giggled softly as his hands worked with her pants as he carefully backed her towards his bed at the same time.

She fell against the soft mattress and he followed her, his lips finding hers again with a passionate kiss. Suddenly he pulled away, looking down at her worriedly.

"This won´t harm the baby?" He asked, supporting his weight a little more with his hands.

She smiled, her hands caressing the nape of his neck. "No, this won´t harm the baby."

He grinned before leaning down to kiss her again.

-----

The morning light that streamed through the curtains into the room slowly woke her up from her sleep. She turned her head to look at the man sleeping next to her on his side, his arm loosely wrapped around her stomach. Her hand moved to cover his that rested above their unborn child and the sudden wave of feelings for him washed over her as she watched his peaceful sleep.

A soft sigh escaped her and she turned to look at the clock on his nigh stand. They still had a little time. A slow movement of his hand against her naked skin made her look back at him.

"Hey." He smiled at her sleepily.

"Hey." She replied rolling on her side to face him, brushing his unshaved cheek with the back of her fingers.

He pulled her even closer to him, her leg moving around his as she settled against him. His hand moved from her waist to her silky thigh and she pressed herself a little tighter against him as he run his hand along her leg.

Her fingers traced the lines of his face gently, her thumb wiping across his closed eyelid with a feather-like touch before tangling into his hair. He opened his eyes to look at her smiling.

The sudden chirp of her ear piece on the night stand broke the moment and she pulled away enough to grab it and placed it on her ear.

"Weir here."

He watched her talk with whoever had contacted her, his hand still caressing her leg under the sheet. She ended the conversation and turned to look at him smiling.

"That was Rodney." She answered the unspoken question.

He frowned, lifting his hand to rub his face and run his fingers through his hair, leaving it sticking up in every possible direction. "What did he want?"

"We have to go." She chuckled softly at him, using her own hand to try to fix his hair before sitting up and reaching for her underwear that lay on the floor next to his bed.

"They can´t handle the city one night without you?" He asked, smiling at the sight of her clasping her bra and then glancing around for her shirt.

She turned to look at him, a light blush creeping on her cheeks when she saw him watching her dressing. "They are expecting you as well."

"I know." He smiled from where he still lay lazily against the pillows.

Frowning softly at his cockiness she stood up and rounded the bed, aware of the eyes that followed her half naked body moving around his quarters. Her shirt was found from the floor near the door and she lifted it up. Fingers grasping around her wrist stopped her pulling it on and she turned to look at him questioningly.

His eyes fell on her stomach that was now clearly visible to his eyes. The tenderness on his face made her heart ache for the love and she reached to take his hand, placing it on her rounded stomach.

"It´s still a little hard to believe it, isn´t it?" She asked softly, looking up to his face.

"Yeah." He admitted as softly, brushing his fingers against her skin before pulling his hand away.

She gathered rest of her clothing and got dressed before walking back to where he was still standing in his boxers. Her arm wrapped around his neck, a hand cupping the back of his head as she reached up to kiss him.

"Don´t be late." She whispered before resultantly pulled away from his arms and left to shower and change her clothes.

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Too much fluff?

Come on, guys, reviewing won´t take _that_ long. The little button is right there...


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you all for reviewing. You´ve made me happy again.

And just because you are so nice to me, I wrote a little longer chapter, just for you.

Hope you enjoy!

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The planet basked in the warmth of the twin suns, an opposite to the closing winter in Atlantis. The small welcome party stood in the shadow of the tall tree by the DHD, watching curiously at the five people who walked over them.

"Greetings." The man smiled friendly, bowing his head slightly to Elizabeth. "We are honored to meet the Great Leader of the City of the Ancients."

"We´re pleased to meet you." Elizabeth smiled, her hand covering her eyes against the bright sunlight.

"My name is Hares." The man said kindly.

"Elizabeth."

"Yes, of course. Colonel Sheppard told me about you when they were here, but I really wanted to meet you myself."

She glanced at John who smiled at her behind his sun glasses, an arm resting casually against his P-90. "Colonel Sheppard has told me a lot about you too."

"Please, I want you to meet my mother, Haresa." Hares turned to the older woman who stepped forward.

"You are with a child." The woman said smiling warmly at her.

Eizabeth´s hand ran over her swollen belly. "Yes." She smiled softly, looking at John before turning her eyes back to the older woman.

Haresa smiled at the look that had passed between the two leaders and she nodded her head smiling to John. "Husband?"

"Oh, no." Elizabeth smiled.

"No." John shook his head at the same time.

The old woman shot a disapproving glare to John, making him frown quietly. She reached for Elizabeth´s arm and guided her gently toward the small village. "Do not worry about that, dear."

"Oh, for crying out..." John muttered as the rest of the villagers turned to follow their leader and his mother.

The smiles on Rodney´s and Ronon´s face weren´t as sympathetic as Teyla´s as they too followed the small group into the village.

-----

Inside the small one-room house was cool and nice as they sat on the soft cushions on the floor.

"Are you comfortable, dear?" Haresa asked again, offering them more cold drinks.

"Yes, I am fine. Thank you." Elizabeth smiled in return.

It was her first off world mission since she had got pregnant, and she felt herself enjoying the diplomatic conversation with Hares. She glanced at John who sat close to her, smiling at him softly before turning her attention back to Hares.

"So, you´re saying that the wraith haven´t been here for years?" Rodney interrupted the village leader.

"Yes. It has been many generations since the wraith came and took our people." He nodded his head. "We have been lucky."

"Why haven´t the wraith have been here?" Ronon asked from where he sat close to the door next to Teyla.

"We do not know." Hares admitted.

"So, no creepy deals made with them then in the past then?"

"Rodney." Elizabeth sighed, placing her hand against her stomach.

"Are you all right?" Hares asked concerned. "It looks like you are giving birth soon.

"Not for a few months." She smiled, rubbing her stomach gently. "The baby is just kicking a little." She watched the look on John´s face softening, like it had every time during the past months when they talked about their child.

They had declined the evening meal and were ready to leave. John helped Elizabeth up, his hand lingering around her longer than necessary and she leaned slightly against him.

"Thank you, Hares." She smiled softly at the other leader. "We will be back soon to talk more about our new alliance."

"You are welcome back anytime, Elizabeth." He replied, bowing his head again. "All of you."

The sudden scream coming from the outside pierced through the peaceful night. The door flew open and a young boy rushed in, the look on his face horrified. "The wraith...they´re here."

"That is impossible." Hares moved to look from the window.

"The boy´s right." Ronon informed, watching as the wraith searched through the village. "They´re here."

"But...but they have not been here for years. And they have always come with the ships. Not like this. Why would they come here now?"

"It´s like they´re looking for something..." Rodney said. "Or someone." He slowly turned to look at Elizabeth as he realized what was happening. "They´re looking for you."

The sound of the P-90 being loaded echoed in the small house. John pushed Elizabeth gently in the far corner away from the door. "That´s the only way out?" It wasn´t really a question as he glanced around the room.

"Yes. I am sorry." Hares said.

Both Teyla and Ronon prepared their weapons and moved into better positions. Hares wrapped his arm around his mother. "What are we going to do?"

John moved to look out from the window. "I can see a dozen, at least."

"We can take them." Ronon looked from the other window.

"There has to be more." John muttered and glanced back to Elizabeth. The gate was close, but she couldn´t run.

The sound of the dart made him glance up to the sky. "I thought it looked too easy."

"Maybe if you can distract them, Elizabeth and I can make to the gate." Teyla said.

John shook his head. "No, the gate is probably covered."

"What are we going to do then? We can´t fight," Rodney frowned at the look Ronon gave him and added, "_and _defeat all of them."

John moved to where Elizabeth stood. "It´s going be okay." He said softly, reaching to take her hand.

"They are here because of me." She whispered.

He wanted to tell her that it wasn´t true, but they all knew that they were after her and the baby. "McKay and I are taking Elizabeth out of here. Into the woods, we´ll have a better chance there. Stay in radio contact."

"What about..?" Teyla asked quietly, her eyes moving to Hares and his mother. "We can not leave them here."

"They´re coming with us." John nodded.

They sneaked out the door and for a moment John thought that they could make it without being noticed. Ronon´s furious shout of warning and the sounds of the weapons being fired made him curse and hurry the small group to go faster. He whipped around to fire on the closing wraith, shouting at Rodney to keep moving without him.

"Keep running!" Rodney hurried Hares and his mother through the woods, his hand gripping Elizabeth´s arm to keep her moving. The wraith came from nowhere, making them fall on the ground. He had no interest for the scientist, his attention on Elizabeth who rolled on her back, looking up to the white haired monster.

"You have something we want." The wraith snarled.

Her hand moved onto her stomach as the wraith reached for her. The sudden gunshot into his back made him turn around and stare at Rodney angrily. "You will pay for that, human." He growled and took a few steps closer.

Rodney emptied the clip of his gun into his chest and the wraith fell on the ground lifeless.

The sudden pain in her abdomen made Elizabeth cry out and Rodney fell on his knees next to her. "You okay?"

She shook her head. "Where´s John?"

He glanced around them in the darkening forest. "He´ll be here." The sounds of the familiar P-90s and the wraith blast guns were still heard around them. "Come on." He pulled her up. "We have to keep moving."

"Doctor Weir." The familiar sound made her head snap up and she stared the face of the wraith who had kept her prisoner. She took a few steps back instinctively, her hand surrounding her stomach as if to protect the unborn child.

"No." A desperate whisper left her lips and the wraith smiled, pleased to hear the fear in her voice.

Rodney still had an arm wrapped around her waist, the only thing keeping her up as another stab of pain shot through her lower body. He silently cursed his stupidity of using all the bullets in one enemy. He should have known better by now.

"I will take it from here." The wraith moved fast, his hand hitting Rodney on the face, sending him on the ground.

"Rodney." Elizabeth cried out.

The wraith watched as she doubled over with the pain before grabbed her arm and started to drag her away. "No." She fought against the best she could, but the firm grip held.

"Let her go." The wraith stopped surprised as John was suddenly standing in front of him, his weapon pointed straight into his head. "Let. Her. Go." He repeated slowly.

"Colonel Sheppard. I should have killed you long time ago." The wraith smiled at him, and then suddenly pulled Elizabeth in front of him, moving his hand on her neck, fingers running almost like caressing against the soft skin. "I will break her neck."

"You need her alive." John said without a blink. "You want the baby, and the baby will die if you hurt her."

She was suddenly pushed violently on the ground as the wraith jumped toward John. He fired his weapon before they fell on the ground, the dead weight of the wraith landing on him.

He pushed the dead wraith off of him and struggled to sit. The pain in his arm made him look down the bloody cuts that bled lightly. "Elizabeth?" He saw her lying on the ground and crawled to her. "Elizabeth?"

"John?" She cried out.

"It´s okay."

"No." She closed her eyes, her face twisting with pain. "The baby..."

He glanced down on her stomach before looking back at her face.

"It´s coming. Now."

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So, a happy end? Or, a sad one? You choose. Not that many chapters left...


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you for reviewing.

There is a small Ronon/Teyla moment here and it´s dedicated to _fyd818_ because I thought she would like it.

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A small cry escaped her lips as John lifted her up and carried away from the barely visible path. He laid her down gently on the ground behind the fallen tree trunks. "I know it hurts, but you have to keep quiet."

Rodney glanced at her worriedly as she whimpered with pain again before looking at John. "What are we going to do?" The scientist hissed quietly.

"The wraith will find us."

Another contraction made her eyes fall closed as she fought against the pain knowing she had to stay quiet. "I´m not going to have this baby here,  
John." She panted. "I need Carson."

"I know, honey." He gently pushed the dark hair away from her face. "We will think of something."

Two quiet clicks in his radio made him release her hand he was holding and reach for the radio, informing Ronon and Teyla where they were. The two of them appeared from the woods some minutes later.

"Elizabeth?" Teyla kneeled next to the other woman, reaching to take her hand in her own.

"We have to get her out of here." John insisted when he walked to Ronon.

"How much time do we have?" The runner glanced over John´s shoulder to Elizabeth, grimacing slightly as her face twitched with pain again.

"I don´t know." John checked his weapon.

"We are never going to make to the gate together." Ronon said. "I´ll go."

"No."

"I can make it."

"I have no doubt you would. But I need you here. What if the wraith finds us? I need you to fight."

"I´ll go." Rodney offered, his voice with more confident than he felt.

"No." John shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but you got a pretty nasty hit on the head. I don´t want you to faint and get captured."

He knew he should go himself, but he also knew that nothing in the world was going to make him leave her.

"I will go." Teyla stood up and walked to them. "I am a fast runner and I will make it to the gate. Colonel Lorne--"

"No," Ronon interrupted her.

"Ronon," her voice was gentle and she reached to touch his arm. "I will be fine."

"Go." John said quietly. "Be careful." He returned back to Elizabeth´s side, ignoring the short, private moment between the two members of his team when Teyla reached to kiss Ronon softly on the lips.

"I love you." His words were barely a whisper and never meant to anyone but her to hear. But the falling night had become quiet.

-----

The darkness had fallen around them.

She leaned heavily against him, crying out quietly every time the contraction hit her, each one more often and more powerful than the last.

"Quiet." Ronon whispered more harshly than intended as the fallen leaves rustled under someone´s feet.

"They should be here by now." Rodney stated in a hoarse whisper after a few minutes, staring toward the darkness. Ronon didn´t say anything but the look on his face was worried.

"God, John." Elizabeth gasped out suddenly, gripping her stomach in pain.

"It´s okay." He promised. "It´s gonna be fine."

He had barely finished his sentence when the first blast hit on the tree just above them and he covered her with his body as more shots were fired toward them. Ronon was already shooting into the woods, Rodney crouching behind the tree trunk waiting to see something before firing, not wanting to repeat his earlier mistake.

"We need the female alive!" The shout came from the darkness and John whipped around toward the voice.

He shot short bursts but he was running out of bullets. The sudden explosion in the dark sky made them glance up to see the dart going down. Lorne´s voice was a little too bright as he informed them that they were above them and were about to land.

The cloaked jumper landed smoothly on the clearing and John watched several marines running out, Carson right behind them. John smiled a little. He had taught his second in command well.

"It´s okay now, love." The Scottish doctor kneeled next to Elizabeth, wasting no time in examining her there, but helped John to lift her up and carry on the jumper.

The rescue had lasted less than a few minutes and the jumper lifted up again, shaking a little as taking a few hits the darts shot at them. The marines were out of the way, and to John it looked like Carson had made it very clear that he needed all the room he could get in the back of the jumper.

Another cry of pain escaped Elizabeth´s lips and she felt a few tears sliding down on her cheek. "Carson?" Her voice was as scared as the look on her eyes.

"It looks like you going to have your baby now." Carson smiled comforting. "It´s going to be just fine, lass."

"Doc." John frowned at the light tone of the other man´s voice, his hand smoothing Elizabeth´s face calmly.

"Oh, please, lad. You are not the first worried father I´ve met." The doctor chuckled as he secured the IV line on his patient´s hand.

The jumper shook a little more violently and John glanced at Lorne who sat behind the controls. "What´s wrong?" He called.

"Um, we might have a small problem here." Lorne´s reply made the other colonel frown again. He reached to kiss Elizabeth´s forehead. "I´ll be right back."

The young looking marine moved away from the seat and John took his place next to Lorne. The gate was open, but the large hive ship hovered close to it, firing randomly. Another shot hit the jumper.

"One more hit and we will lose the cloak." Lorne made some adjustments, but the small jumper was already giving all it had. "Seems they really want her and the baby."

John grimaced at his words. "We need a new plan."

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I hope you are still enjoying the story. Two days and two chapters left...

Review. It´s not that hard, you know, the little button is right there waiting.


	13. Chapter 13

So, we´re closing to the end...

Thank you all for reviewing!!!

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"I can´t have the baby here." Elizabeth´s voice was almost desperate as the pain slowly eased after another contraction. "Carson, I just...I can´t..."

"It´ll be just fine, love." Carson promised before leaving her side for a moment to see what was holding them back.

"...have contacted the Daedalus." Radek´s voice crackled through the intercom. "They should be there in a few hours."

"Copy that Atlantis, Lorne out."

Carson heard the last part of the conversation as he walked into the front part of the jumper. "Oh, my." He sighed at the sight of the hive ship that was still guarding the gate.

"How is she?" John turned to look past the doctor to where Elizabeth was lying on the floor in the back, Teyla now kneeling next to her.

"We need to get her back to Atlantis. The baby won´t wait much longer."

"Well, as you can see, we´re kinda of trapped here, doc." Lorne sighed frustrated. "The Daedalus should be here in a few hours and hopefully blast our way free."

"We don´t have that much time."

John left his seat and moved on the back, taking Teyla´s place next to Elizabeth. "Hey." His hand brushed back the dark hair from her face. "How´re ya feelin´?" His voice was thick with worry at the pained look on her face.

"What´s wrong?"

"Nothing´s wrong. Don´t worry."

"Don´t lie to me, colonel." She smiled tiredly in return.

"The wraith have blocked our way. We have to wait for Daedalus."

"They´re still on their way back from Earth."

"Yeah, we know. It shouldn´t take long."

She nodded, smiling at him before suddenly her body stiffened, her hold in his hand tightened as the contraction hit her. "God."

"Breathe, love." Carson was next to her at once. "It´ll pass." He held her other hand, and then looked at John. "We can´t wait for two hours. She´s ready to push."

"Lorne, land this thing somewhere safe. Looks like we´re going to have a baby here."

The jumper landed near the tree line far from the gate to avoid the random shots the hive ship was still firing.

"Have you done this before?" John glanced worriedly at Carson who was washing his hands.

"Helping a woman who was being kidnapped by a life-sucking race to impregnate her by the man who has a rare ATA gene, to give birth a baby while the wraith is hunting us down? Sure, I do that all the time."

"I didn´t..."

"I know what you meant. And yes, I´ve done this before." Carson chuckled amused before got serious again. "But this is definitely not something I wanted to do out here. Support her from the back."

It was everything exactly as she had not pictured. She lay on the hard floor of the puddle jumper on the alien planet, the wraith trying to find them, half a dozen heavily armed marines around her.

"It´s too soon." She whispered crying. "I´m only seven months..."

"It´ll be just fine." Carson assured her. "Push."

It felt like an eternity until the baby´s wail filled the jumper as Carson held the little baby in his arms. "A wee baby girl." He simply said as he wiped her clean the best he could before wrapping her into a warm towel and placing her on Elizabeth´s chest.

"Hey." She sobbed out softly, reaching her hand to touch the baby´s cheek with her finger. John hugged her gently from behind, his hand moving to caress the baby´s dark, silky hair.

"Our daughter." He whispered quietly, not being able to look away from the baby who stared at them sleepily with her blue eyes.

"Look at them." Teyla´s soft, almost dreamy sight made Rodney and Lorne smile at her softly before turning to look at Ronon smirking. "You´re next, buddy." Lorne chuckled and patted the runner´s back, making the tall man frown quietly.

Suddenly the jumper jerked violently as the blast hit it on the side. The baby started to cry again as John covered them with his body.

"They found us." Lorne was already behind the controls as another shot hit them. "Son of a bitch."

"Watch your language, my daughter´s back there." John sat down next to the younger colonel and Lorne glanced at him smirking before concentrating back to the controls.

"They are still after the baby. And they know we can´t take many more hits." Ronon stood behind them.

"Take us the hell out of here." John shouted.

"McKay!" Lorne didn´t sound all that happy as the jumper didn´t react to his commands.

"I´m working on it." Rodney called back a little annoyed, his computer already attached to the jumper.

"Well, work faster."

The scientist frowned at the colonel´s words. "I swear you´re sounding like Sheppard more and more every day."

"Rodney." John asked, his voice something Rodney hadn´t heard before.

"I know." He sighed understanding the man´s worry. "Okay, try now."

The jumper shook slightly but the shield was holding. Rodney turned back to his computer. "The weapons system is down. Yes, I´m fixing it."

John left his place and returned to the back to Elizabeth and his daughter. The baby was still crying at the noise around them, and he laid a soothing hand on her head. He glanced at Elizabeth, his other hand touching her face. "We´ll get through this. They won´t get her." His eyes fell to the baby. "I promise, I´ll get you both back home."

"Colonel Sheppard?" Caldwell´s voice made him sigh in relief and he reached for his radio.

"We could use a little help down here, sir."

"The hive ship is in our range and we are causing as much damage to it as we can to get you cleared."

"Our jumper has been damaged pretty badly, you better just beam us out of here."

A few seconds later they were on the bridge of the large battle cruiser, John still crouching next to Elizabeth and the baby who started to cry again.

Caldwell looked at them surprised. "I thought you weren´t due for another month or two." Was the only thing to come in his mind.

"Well, we can talk about that later." Carson was already taken a control of the situation. "We need to get them into the infirmary."

-----------

A few hours later she woke up from her light sleep to find a little gray alien standing next to her bed, watching her and the baby next to her curiously.

"Hermiod." Elizabeth greeted the Asgard, pushing herself to sit against the pillows, careful not to wake up the baby.

"I did not mean to wake you, Doctor Weir. Doctor Beckett made very clear to everyone that you need rest. But I have never seen a human child this small." Hermiod stated, his big eyes staring the baby.

"It´s okay." She smiled in return, glancing down at the little girl who was now wrapped into a colorful blanket John had gotten from somewhere. It was surely something he didn´t find from the heavily armed battle ship´s infirmary.

"She looks a little red and wrinkled." The alien blinked his black eyes before turned and left the room.

"Thank you, I guess." Elizabeth called after him and looked at her daughter again. "The wrinkle part you´ve got from your daddy." She whispered.

A few minutes later John returned to the infirmary, his hair still damp from the shower, dressed into a clean clothes. He leaned to kiss her softly on the lips before his attention went to his sleeping daughter.

"She´s beautiful." He said, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Hermiod called her red and wrinkled."

He glanced up to her. "The guy walks around naked in here, who cares about what he says." But he sounded a little offended and she chuckled softly.

"We didn´t quite decide the name yet." She said.

"Well, I did have a few good sug---"

"We´re not calling her Leia." She interrupted him.

"I wasn´t---"

"Yes you were. You really want some handsome smuggler flying here with his ship and marrying your daughter."

"No, no one´s going to... handsome?"

"Very." The look on her eyes was teasing but he frowned over dramatically.

"Okay, how about---"

"No."

"You don´t even know---"

"Yes I do. No fictional movie characters."

He chuckled softly and then reached to touch the baby´s forehead gently. "Well, there was this one name we both liked." He looked at her if she remembered and she nodded her head smiling.

"Yeah, I think it´ll fit perfect."

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If you have read my other Sparky baby fic, you can probably guess the baby´s name :)

An epilogue left, and that should be up by tomorrow before I leave for my well-earned three-weeks-long vacation.

Thanks for reading, and don´t forget to review again :)


	14. Epilogue

Over 100 reviews! Oh, I feel so loved. Thank you so much everybody!!

I hope you have enjoyed. I know I had fun writing this.

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It was already her second birthday and she was sitting down in the infirmary on her mother´s lap. Her dark hair was pulled into a curly pigtails and she was proudly showing her new clothes to Carson who wisely gave them the requested attention as he examined her.

She stood still when he measured her and giggled softly when Carson placed her beloved stuffed kitten she had got from her father on her first birthday on the scale before she stepped on it.

She was sitting again on her mother´s lap, and Elizabeth did her best to distract her when Carson stuck the needle into her arm to draw some blood. Soft sobs shook her small body as she tried to pull her arm away.

"Just a little more." Carson smiled encouraging and then pulled the needle off. "There you go." He placed the small bandage he had ordered from Earth just for her on her arm. "You´re such a good girl, Madison."

She nodded her head which she had buried against her mother´s chest, sniffling a little. Elizabeth smiled down at her, smoothing her head comfortingly with her hand.

"It´s okay, sweetheart. All done now." She said softly at her daughter as she stood up and Maddie placed her head against her shoulder, holding her kitten under hear arm.

"Thank you, Carson." Elizabeth smiled at the doctor.

"You´re welcome." He replied, reaching to brush Maddie´s back gently. "You´ll get the results back before we leave." He promised.

"We´ll see you in a few hours."

"Bye, honey." Carson waved smiling at Maddie who lifted her small hand to wave back.

-----

A few hours later John walked into her office, scooping his daughter up from the floor where she had sat on the blanket playing. He tickled her softly making her giggle and squirm in his arms.

"Ready to go?" He asked Elizabeth who had stopped working to look at them and smiling at the sight.

"Yeah. We´ll just have to wait for Carson, he has the test results of Maddie´s check-up."

Maddie showed him the bandage that was still on her arm and John kissed her cheek softly in compassion. "Uncle Carson told me you were very brave girl."

She nodded her head in agreement and wrapped her little arms around John´s neck again.

"Good, you´re both already here." Carson smiled as he walked in and looked at the waiting parents. "Everything looks fine."

"She´s okay?" Elizabeth asked the same question she had asked since she was born.

"She´s just fine," Carson promised. "A little smaller than she should be for her age, but that´s normal because of the prematurely birth."

Elizabeth took Maddie from John and hugged the little girl tightly before kissing her face. "Thank god." She sent a silent thank you up to whoever was listening.

"Listen, I know you two worry, but I have been monitoring her for two years and haven´t seen anything you should worry about. I think it´s safe to say that I was wrong to assume that the wraith had done something more than just impregnate you."

"Thanks, doc." John said and wrapped his arm around Elizabeth´s waist and pulled her gently against his side, placing a soft kiss on the side of her head.

Maddie reached for her father and John took her back in his arms. "It´s your birthday, honey. Everybody is probably already waiting for us down by the hangar." Carson smiled as he followed them out of the office toward the transporter.

-----

The sun had rose into a clear blue sky some hours before, spreading warming rays over the planet. The soft summer breeze was warm, the waves crashing softly against the white sanded beach the three families had chosen to spend their day off.

"He has to stop naming them." Laura Cadman sighed almost frustrated.

Teyla smiled softly, lying on her side on the blanket that was spread on the sand, her two-month old daughter lying on her back next to her.

"I´m serious." The lieutenant said, turning to look at her CO who walked closer, her giggling twelve months old son in his arms. "You have to stop naming them."

John chuckled and smiled down to the three women. "Why?" He asked innocently.

"Because you are using all the good names and we can´t use them anymore. Ever." Laura reached up to take her son from him, placing the little boy to sit on the blanket next to her.

"What if our next one is a boy?" Elizabeth smiled at him suggestively. "I really liked the name Michael until you decided to call one of the life sucking vampires that."

He chuckled again at the chose of her words to call the wraith. "So, I´ll use the names you don´t want to from now on."

"Like?" Laura offered her son a bottle of water before glancing up to him, shielding her eyes with her hand from the sun.

"Well, like Kip, or Leslie..."

"Oh, god." Carson groaned as he walked to them and placed his other son down on the blanket next to his twin brother. "You´re still talking about the names, aren´t ya?" His eyes narrowed a little at the innocent look on his fiancée's face. "You´re not trying to hint me anything." He glanced suspiciously down at her flat stomach.

"No." Laura giggled. "These two are enough for now, thank you very much."

"You do not wish for more children?" Teyla asked softly, looking up from her sleeping daughter.

"With my luck," Laura glanced at Carson with mock glare. "I´ll get two more."

John laughed and sat down next to Elizabeth.

"Where´s Maddie?" She asked and pushed herself to look down the beach.

"She´s right there." John assured her, turning around to see her daughter not too far from them, Ronon kneeled next to her on the sand. "Ronon´s with her. She´s fine."

He knew she was worried. He was worried. The last desperate attempt to get the little girl had been almost six months ago, but he worried.

It hadn´t been for lack of trying the wraith hadn´t got Maddie in their hands. The first strikes after she had been born and slipped from their hands had been against the city, but the defense had been hold. Shields had held strong, the city almost humbly obeying to John´s commands as he had sat on the chair and sent the drones to destroy the attacking darts.

And he had thanked Atlantis quietly for protecting his child after the last dart had been destroyed.

The last attack against them had been six months ago and it had ended before even really started, leaving the wraith laying on the ground, all dead but one.

The white haired alien vampire was kneeling on the ground, John´s P-90 pressed against his head.

"After my death, many more will come for her." The wraith sneered coldly, staring up to the man in front of him.

"I´m not gonna kill you." John stated slowly. "You go and tell the others that you will stop looking for her." He said, never looking away from the empty eyes.

"She is ours. We made her."

The gun pressed a little harder against the white skin. "She is _my_ daughter. And you will stop looking for her."

Thin lips twisted into an evil smile. "She belongs to us. And we will find her and take her...home."

"She´s not here anymore. We´ve sent her through so many gates over and over again that you will never see her again."

"You would not send your own daughter away?" The wraith´s voice wasn´t so cocky anymore.

"You will tell the others that you stop looking, and I will stop killing you...that much."

The wraith cocked his head, sly smile creeping on his lips again. "It´s---" The hit from the back of Ronon´s gun made him stumble forward a little before another hit sent the wraith into a darkness.

John glared the wraith for a moment before his hold of his weapon loosened. Lorne moved closer, his gun still pointing the wraith as two other marines dragged him through the gate into a deserted planed, leaving him there.

"You think they will stop looking for her?" Ronon asked softly as they watched the marines disappearing through the gate.

"It was worth a try."

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A few hours later after they had finished their lunch and birthday cake, the families lay on the blankets, the warmth of the sun slowly lulling them into a sleep.

Under the shadow the little Beckett twins were napping between Carson and Laura who were talking with sleepy voices over their sons. He was holding her hand, playing with the ring in her finger and she was smiling at him softly, her eyes closed, other hand smoothing gently at Connor´s small arm as the boy moved closer to her in his sleep.

Ronon lay on his side, leaning up against his hand and watched his cooing daughter. Teyla rested next to him, her soft laughter breaking the silence from time to time as she watched the baby grabbing Ronon´s finger and pulled it toward her mouth.

Maddie was lying on her back between John and Elizabeth, babbling softly mostly to herself as her parents just smiled at her sleepily. The white seashell she had found from the sand shimmered in the sun light as she held it up.

She brought the shell close to her father´s face, to make sure he saw it and smiled proudly at her finding. His voice was soft when he tried to get her to sleep a little, but the girl turned her face away to look at her mother pouting.

She wasn´t tired.

"Connor and Nathan are sleeping. And baby Charin too." Elizabeth tried, smoothing back the little girl´s dark hair.

"No." The little girl didn´t talk much yet, but she knew the important words.

John chuckled sleepily and reached to pull the girl close to him. Elizabeth smiled as she listened him speaking, his soft and calm words slowly lulling the little girl into a sleep.

"This has been such a perfect day, John." Elizabeth sighed softly and he lifted his eyes from their daughter to look at her. "Can we stay here, forever?"

"Well," he glanced around the beach before back to her. "I am not sure we can fit all our stuff here, but if you are willing to give up some things, sure."

"You wouldn´t mind living without warm showers, fresh coffee and the comfortable bed..."

"Who cares about those when you have everything you need right here."

"Softie." She sighed again, a loving smile playing on her lips.

He grinned at her sleepily. "You know that moving here would mean that you would give the city in the hands of the scientist."

A soft chuckle left her lips. "Rodney´s taking care of her as we speak."

"And I am just waiting for him to call us back because of some emergency he has created."

She smiled at him and he reached to take her hand, their fingers linking over their sleeping daughter. "It´s been a good day." He repeated her earlier words before allowed himself to close his eyes and enjoy the warmth of the sun caressing his face.

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It wasn´t too late yet, but the sun was slowly starting to set. Maddie played with Connor and Nathan a little farther away, sitting on the warm, silky sand. The twins had learned to walk some time ago, much to Maddie´s delight.

"Okay kids." Laura kneeled on the sand next to them, reaching to take Nathan in her arms. "Let´s go home." She settled both children on her hip and turned to wait Maddie to stand up. "Let´s go honey."

Maddie strolled slowly after them, taking a detour close to the tree line as she saw something lying on the ground.

"Maddie!" John called as they started to gather the blankets. "Come on, sweetie."

Maddie looked back to him but didn´t move. She kneeled down to better see the little bird that lay on the grass. With a gentle finger she poked the bird carefully.

"John." Elizabeth sighed softly and nodded toward to where their daughter was kneeling, a little too far for them to see what she was doing.

He left her finish the packing and walked to Maddie. "Whatcha doin´, honey?" He asked and leaning over her to see what she was staring.

"I found a little birdie."

"Oh, honey." John sighed softly as he saw the unmoving bird. He lifted Maddie up in his arms. "Let´s leave it here, okay."

"Okay." Maddie nodded and wrapped her arms around her father´s neck tightly.

Others had slowly started to walk toward the waiting jumper but Elizabeth waited them. She reached to smooth back Maddie´s dark hair from her face and under the summer hat she had and the little girl leaned closer to kiss her. John´s hand found Elizabeth´s as they left the beach, listening Maddie´s soft babble as they walked toward the jumper that would soon take them back home.

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Behind them, in the cover of the high grass a little bird suddenly moved, the small finger print against its feathers glowing slightly as it rolled on its feet. The bird stood still for a moment before opened its wings and flew away with the wind.

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So, once more, please review. Thanks for reading!

I´m off to the airport now :)

Take care, everybody!


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